Bill could allow other areas to mirror Rochester

City phone company already offers cable services.

City phone company already offers cable services.

March 02, 2006|SAMUEL KING WSBT-TV Reporter

ROCHESTER -- Gov. Mitch Daniels has said he'll sign a bill approved Tuesday by the General Assembly that would give telephone companies easier access to providing cable service in Indiana. The telephone companies say cable rates will go down. Cable companies and some consumer groups say that's not the case. One company is already offering bundled services and contends consumers are saving money on cable service. A fiber optic network throughout Fulton County has enabled the Rochester Telephone Company to offer not only phone service, but cable and high-speed Internet as well. "We've added about 1,600 customers to our cable TV network and we're pleased with the results, so far anyway," said Alan Terrell, president of the company. Terrell said that since the Rochester Telephone Company began providing cable service, its chief competitor, Comcast, has been forced to add more channels, add high-speed Internet and charge its customers less than they do other customers in the area. "The consumer has benefited from this. We know in nearby communities served by the competitor, the most popular package is 10 dollars higher than it is here in Rochester. We assume this is due to competition," says Terrell. A spot check of Comcast's Web site showed the company charges $47.99 for its standard cable package in Plymouth and $45.99 in Warsaw. In Rochester, the price for that package is $32.99. Comcast offers digital tiers in all three cities. Rochester Telephone will add a digital tier by the summer. Other phone companies in the state want to offer these services as well, but opponents say the costs may be too high. "This bill is unnecessary and the only intention behind it is a money grab," said Grant Smith, executive director of the Citizens Action Coalition. As part of the bill, phone companies will be able to raise rates a dollar per month for three years, beginning later this year. They say that will enable them to offer cable and bring high speed Internet to more areas in the state. Opponents say not everyone will have access to those services and customers, particularly in rural areas, will pay much more for phone service in the long run. "They're talking about automatic rate increases on an exchange-by-exchange basis, which means they can pick and choose where they want to deploy broadband," Smith said. Samuel King appears on WSBT-TV news reports. Reach him at: king@wsbt.com (574) 472-8124